Venice Italy
Recognized for its beauty, architecture, works of art and Grand Canal
Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages, a cultural center during the Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusader Knights to liberate the Holy Land. It was also an important trading center that made Venice rich.
Venice today, the capital of the Veneto region of Italy, offers unforgettable experiences through its picturesque canals.
It is located on a group of 118 small islands that are linked by canals and bridges and a stunning backdrop of Baroque buildings and famous landmarks including Piazza San Marco, St. Mark’s Basilica, St. Mark’s Campanile of Saint Mark’s Basilica). ), the Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and the Gallerie dell’Accademia (pre-19th-century art museum gallery) are just a few of its many attractions.
There are no cars or roads. Just canals and boats.
You can experience the wonders of this culture-rich city across the waters of the Grand Canal in a gondola and float across the world-famous Rialto Bridge.
Venice and its lagoon were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987.
Colmar-France
“Little Venice of Alsace”
Historic Old World Charm
Founded in the 9th century, Colmar reflects eight centuries of Germanic and French influence in all its variety and vibrancy.
Colmar, on the Alsace wine route in north-eastern France, close to Germany and Switzerland, between the Vosges and the Rhine, Strasbourg and Mulhouse, is surrounded by natural forests, lakes and the vine-covered foothills of the Vosges Mountains south and the Upper Rhine Valley.
The historic city of Colmar is another of Europe’s beautiful places with its historic old town, its famous “Little Venice” lined with canal-side neighborhoods adorned with colorful flowers, cobbled streets and pathways.
You can wander through the medieval and early Renaissance half-timbered buildings, including the Unterlinden Museum with the Isenheim Altarpiece.
The 13th-century Gothic Eglise Saint-Martin church stands on the central Cathedral Square.
Here in Colmar, you’ll also find estates and wineries dotted with local vineyards specializing in Riesling and Gewürztraminer wines.
Annecy-France
Venice of the French Alps
History and culture in alpine environments
Annecy’s old-world charm with its idyllic alpine setting is found in the Haute-Savoie region of southeastern France and on routes leading to Italy and Switzerland.
Its beautiful postcard settings include other nearby traditional villages, forests, snow-capped mountains and Lake d’Annecy,
Its medieval Vieille Ville (Old Town) with its winding canals lined with shops and cafes, the Perrière Bridge (Pont Perrière) and its cobbled streets lined with pastel-colored, geranium-covered Piedmontese houses are a photographer’s dream.
Other attractions include Rue Sainte-Claire with its arcaded houses and Sainte-Claire fortified gate and you can visit the towered 14th-century Château d’Annecy, once home to the Counts of Geneva.
Giethoorn-Netherlands
“Dutch-Venice”
water wonderland
Away from the hustle and bustle of busy city life, you can explore the beautiful and peaceful water town of Giethoorn by boat, bike or on foot.
Panoramic views, tranquility and beauty, Giethoorn, “the Venice of Holland”, lies at the center of the Overijssel system of canals and lakes.
Surrounded by the vast nature reserve of De Wieden, this dyllic village of Durch was founded by fugitives from the Mediterranean around 1230 AD.
There are no roads or cars, just beautiful canals lined with colorful flowers, traditional 18th-century thatched-roof cottages, farmhouses, and more than 150 wooden arched bridges.
Imagine walking, biking, or gently sailing along these serene canals in picture-postcard settings, enjoying their beautiful, peaceful atmosphere.
And you can enjoy a meal or coffee at a canalside cafe or restaurant and watch the world go by.
Keukenhof-Netherlands
europe garden
Keukenhof is a world famous attraction that is open for eight weeks every spring.
Visiting the tranquil settings of Keukenhof will be a unique and unforgettable experience.
Keukenhof is one of the largest flower gardens in the world and is open every year from mid-March to mid-May.
However, the best time to see the tulips is mid-April, depending on the weather.
This panoramic Dutch garden is located about 20 miles southwest of Amsterdam, in the small town of Lisse, in an area called the “Dune and Bulb Region.”
About 7 million flower bulbs are planted annually, including 800 varieties of tulips, and it covers an area of 32 hectares (79 acres).
Here you can enjoy impressive flower shows and panoramic gardens, unique works of art.
You can visit the Tulpomania exhibition in the Juliana Pavilion and you will also find beautiful and iconic Dutch windmills.
Attractions designed for children to enjoy include treasure hunts, a petting farm with lambs, kids, pigs and other animals, and there’s the high hedge maze and playground.
When you get hungry, you can visit the restaurant for pancakes and poffertjes (mini-pancakes).
The Northern Lights-Sweden
Nature’s Natural Light Show – Northern Lights
Abisko offers the clearest nights in Sweden, providing the best opportunity to see the brilliant display of colored lights in the night sky.
The Aurora Sky Station, located on Mount Njullá, 900 meters above sea level, in the extreme northwest of Abisko National Park in Swedish Lapland, is considered one of the best places in the world to observe the impressive northern lights or the aurora borealis .
This natural phenomenon is a stunning colorful light show in the fall and winter night sky that occurs under ideal conditions.
Swedish Lapland’s proximity to magnetic north provides ideal conditions in the Arctic skies when charged particles discharged from the sun reach Earth’s atmosphere and collide with gaseous particles that in turn produce these different colors.
Auroras that occur in the southern hemisphere are called ‘Aurora Australis’ or ‘Southern Lights’.
A visit to the Aurora Sky Station begins with a 20-minute chairlift ride up the mountain.
Santorini, Greece
Magical island that awakens your imagination
Santorini, with its classic Greek architectural beauty, wonderful ocean views and breathtaking sunsets, offers a unique vacation experience.
Classically Thera and officially Thira, Santorini is an island in the South Aegean about 200 km (120 mi) southeast of the Greek mainland.
It is the largest island of a small circular archipelago that bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera.
A giant rectangular lagoon measuring approximately 12 by 7 km (7.5 by 4.3 mi), it is surrounded by cliffs 300 m (980 ft) high on three sides.
See traditional whitewashed buildings, blue-domed churches, lively nightlife, luxury hotels and boutique guesthouses in panoramic settings.
You can visit the Minoan historical site of Akrotiri, the traditional hilltop village of Oia, cross the bay to Santorini’s capital Fira, swim at the famous black volcanic beaches of Perissa, Kamari and Red or hike along its adventure trails.
Santorini has also become the favorite destination for foreign couples who want to get married or enjoy their honeymoon in wonderful postcard settings.
Rhodes Island-Greece
Famous for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders
History, Culture and Beauty
Beautiful beaches, historical sites, traditional villages and a city divided in two: the Old City built by the Crusaders and the modern New City just outside.
Rhodes Town
The city of Rhodes is located along the Mandraki port, which is the first of three ports full of cruise ships, yachts and fishing boats.
This is where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood before it was toppled by an earthquake in 225 BC.
The New Market (Nea Agora), with its Moorish domes lining Mandraki Harbour, is packed with lively cafes, food stalls, gift shops and souvlaki bars.
Along the Mandraki Harbor are neo-colonial and Italianate buildings and at the harbor entrance now stand two bronze stags where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood.
You can see the Palace of the Grand Master of the Crusader Knights of Saint John and a Turkish minaret, you have panoramic views of the medieval fortress of Saint Nicholas and three Byzantine windmills.
Around the island, you will find beautiful beaches, historical sites dating back to the classical era of the ancient Greeks, and quaint, traditional villages.
medieval old town
Rhodes Old Town is one of the largest and best preserved medieval settlements in Europe inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List which recognizes its exceptional value as a cultural site.
The old town is a legacy of the Crusader Knights of Saint John who built it to defend the island from invaders.
You can enter the old town through eleven gates and walk through its labyrinth of cobbled streets, alleys, and arcades.
Life goes on in the old town with many houses, shops and businesses, as well as restaurants, cafes, bars, gift shops, pensions and museums.
Symi-Greece
Panoramic views of the harbor and the city’s amphitheater
Breathtaking views, a beautiful harbor and a wonderful island atmosphere make Symi a unique travel experience for its visitors.
Symi is a Greek island of the Dodecanese group of islands located about 41 kilometers (25 mi) northwest of Rhodes (and 425 km (264 mi) from Athens).
It includes the port city of Symi, its adjacent upper town Ano Symi, as well as several smaller towns, beaches, and areas of importance in history and mythology.
It is a popular tourist destination known for its beaches, its annual music festival and for its stunning views of one of the most beautiful ports in the world, surrounded by colorful neoclassical houses built on the slopes of the hills.
Panoramic views of the city, harbor and surrounding sea, the islets and peninsulas of Datça and Bozburun of Mugla province in Turkey can be seen from its mountainous slopes in the distance.
Panormitis Monastery
On the southwest coast, the 18th-century Monastery of the Archangel Michael Panormitis, which overlooks a bay and is still inhabited by monks, is a major Greek Orthodox pilgrimage site with a Byzantine museum.